Benjamin J. Maxwell
| position = Commanding Officer | sibling = Joseph Robert Maxwell | marital = | spouse = Phoebe M. Astoris, LT, FSS USS Canopus | children = | relative = | image2 = | image3 = }} Benjamin Jakob Maxwell is a Starfleet officer and the current Commanding Officer of the . A Starfleet Academy graduate of 2359, he holds a MS in plasma engineering and BA in military history. He is a veteran of the Dominion War and holds an engineering certificate for ships. He is the brother of the late Zee Magnees laureate Joseph Maxwell. Early life Born on April 21st, 2338 in to Daniel Howard Maxwell and Angela Wanda Maxwell, née Galden. Daniel Maxwell, a native from was employed as geoworker with E&E at their New Aberdeen, Aldebaran headquarters. Angela Maxwell, a native of New Aberdeen, was a student at the Biological Department of New Aberdeens Hyades University and conducting research at the at that time. Maxwells exact date of birth was never established on screen. It was mentioned in the script for the "missing" fourth episode of Concordium's Season One. Listed as British due to his Scottish origin, he is considered an American for production purposes. He speaks American English, but is also capable of reverting to Scottish English, as shown on several occasions (most prominently, although not completely voluntarily in STC: "Q-Cordium"). He once jokingly remarked to his father "...I even sound like the archetypical Starfleet Engineer..." (STC: "Out of Uniform") Both for production purposes and per Federation legal definition he is a Human, although "...the Galden DNA was watered down somewhat, due to the melting pot that Aldebaran became over the years. I am at least one eighth not human... that part of me is a cocktail of Orionian, Zakdorn, Centaurian and probably a little bit Vulcan..." (STC: "Family Plans") Maxwell spent most of his childhood in New Aberdeen and surrounding Munro County. The family home was located on the shores of the Skene lagoon, but has been sold since. Maxwell's private housing is located in the Academy's annex at Cove Bay. (STC: "Terra Firma") During the summer holidays he often accompanied his father with colonization teams in the Orion Arm-area. (STC: "Out of Uniform") Academy The experiences of these deployments led him to enrolling at Starfleet Academy in for the class of 2359 - the still teenage Maxwell had gotten quite a reputation for repairing machinery. While his parents would have liked him to sign in for a more scientific specialization, he naturally did choose engineering as major. His minors did change over the years. When he did graduate in 2359 it was with Engineering as major (with a specialization in low-energy plasma systems) and history as minor. He graduated with a 98th Percentile, ranking him in the top 10 of engineering commissions of that class. He chaired the academies own "Cadet Propulsion Study Group" during his third and fourth year and published four times during his final year, once in "Dockyard Review", twice in the "SFCE Journal" and once in "Nuts and Bolts". He was the only human member in the academies "Tellarite Discussion Club" in his fourth year - not unsurprisingly as he already had gained a reputation as a fierce combatant in arguments, with his opponents up to Captain Sarole, who would later become Commanding Admiral of RADCOM, but back then served as the Dean of the Propulsion Engineering Department at the Academy. He was named Senior Midshipman Engineer for his midshipman cruise aboard the USS Captain De la Hoya in 2358. The Kelly Case During early 2358, Maxwell first met and eventually fell in love with Pamela Kelly. Kelly was a trainee at New Aberdeen Shipbuilding and the daughter of Marine Sergeant Major John Kelly. Through Kelly, Maxwell came in contact with the street gangs of Bahut City, a Zakdorn dominated suburb of New Aberdeen. One of those gangs was lead by Paul Espanto-Elguno, designated heir of the Espanto-Elguno industry empire. Under circumstances not fully uncovered, some members of the gang and Pamela Kelly were killed. The incident was classified as unconclusive and not prosecuted by local police, with no consequences both for Maxwell and Espanto-Elguno. The FBI reopened the case in 2382, with the Aldebaran Supreme Court issuing an arrest warrant for Maxwell in November 2382 for the alleged murder of Pamela Kelly and six gang members. (STC: "Power Levels", "The Warp-Conspiracy", "Thorn Within, Part I", "Cold Case, Part I") First Assignments Although eligible for free choice of assignment due to his grades and commendations, his first assignment was aboard the transport USS Tucano with the Propulsion Engineering Staff. During his tour aboard the cruiser USS Thule he envisaged, planned, designed and implemented several changes to the Excelsior''s aged auxiliary power, impulse propulsion and RCS systems securing him runner-up in the SFCE's annual “Frank M. Harman Award” competition. (STC: "False Start", "Improvements", "The Warp-Conspiracy") He first met Petter Argusson aboard the Thule. (STC: "Evaluations") Although often questioning orders and circumventing the chain of command before, with the Harman Award and a Starfleet Commendation Medal to back him up he would often clash with Thule's Executive Officer and Captain Theresa Angels. (STC: "The Panel") Although this resulted in several negative remarks in his service records these appear to have been scrubbed later. (STC: "The Panel", "Thorn Within, Part I") Dominion War After completion of the XO Fleet Up Course he was posted to the cruiser USS ''Repetition as Chief Engineer. Serving with the Seventh Starfleet, the Repetition took part in the Dominion War including the Second Battle of Chin'toka in 2375. The Repetition (the ‘Rep’ as she was commonly called) was severely damaged by Breen forces during the engagement with Maxwell conducting and executing operations in particularly affected parts of the ship under threat to his life, being wounded while doing so. The damaged Repetition was relegated to perimeter defense of the Bolarus Fleetyards until the end of the war. While doing so Maxwell got promoted to CDR and assigned as XO of the Repetition, the XO slot becoming empty when the former Number One replaced the killed Captain of another ship. Commanding the Canopus In the wake of the Dominion War and the heavy death toll in the Starfleet officer corps many Commanders were fast tracked for their own command. This also applied to Maxwell, who was promoted to Captain in autumn 2377 and placed as acting CO of the , then undergoing refit to Nebula II at the New Aberdeen Fleetyards. With the recommission of the Canopus Maxwell was assigned as actual CO. Personal Relationships Petter Argusson He first met then-Ensign Argusson after being assigned as Assistant Chief Engineer to the U.S.S. Thule in 2367. The two became close friends in the four years they served together, before Argusson transferred to the U.S.S. Enterprise. (STC: "False Start", "The Panel") When the OPS position aboard the U.S.S. Canopus became vacant Maxwell lobbied not only at Fourth Starfleet but with Argusson as well to join the crew. (STC: "Evaluations") Maxwell and Argusson addressed each other almost exclusively by their first names ("Ben" and "Pete"), only in rare cases (usually in times of tension between them) switching to formal titles. (STC: "Dirty Laundry", "Matriarchy", "Has Anyone seen the Captain?", "Thou Shalt Not Kill") This very close relationship, which both of them never tried to conceil, did raise some questions at higher levels. (STC: "Evaluations", "Family Plans") Although Maxwell tried to avoid anything that made it look like Argusson enjoyed preferred treatment, some aboard the ship had that impression, including Commander Harpon. (STC: "Tidal Effects", "Total Recall", "Dirty Laundry") Argusson had met Maxwell's brother before, though it is not revealed where. (STC: "Vendetta") Paul Espanto-Elguno Espanto-Elguno and Maxwell first met during the latter's Academy time on Aldebaran, when Maxwell was a Cadet and Espanto-Elguno one of the thugs of a Bahut gang. This was unknown to anyone else aboard the Canopus, including Petter Argusson, up to when the FBI reopened the Kelly Case. (STC: "Cold Case, Part I") It was hinted sometimes that the both of them had a common past. (STC: "False Start", "Power Levels", "Terra Firma") Maxwell addressed Espanto-Elguno often by his first name ("Paulie"), although less often that with Lieutenant Commander Parkes. In some rare cases, when off duty, Espanto-Elguno called Maxwell by his first name as well ("Ben"). (STC: "Power Levels", "Roleplay") Maxwell had met Espanto-Elgunos father Bertrand Espanto and his grandfather Gerard Espanto before. (STC: "Out of Uniform") It was suggested that only the political power of the E&E empire prevented the New Aberdeen Police from investigating into the Kelly Case. (STC: "Cold Case, Part I") Service Record Awards and decorations Category:Concordium universe Category:Starfleet personnel Category:Humans